Police Shoot Pet Cat

Guess what animal control does with them folks.. they take it back to headquarters and put it down if its sick. The only difference is the
transportation.

First they check to see if it has tags or is microchiped! If so the owners are able to come pick up their pet and and take them to the vet, sometimes
they even offer the owners a $20 gift certificate to help pay the vet bill. Somewhere along the line I am sure a vet checks to see if it is actually
sick.

its a risk worth taking, since the average pet owner can't be bothered to get a rabies shot, it only takes one infected animal to quickly infect
others. Then the other owners have an animal that they don't even know is infected, coming into their house.

More then once, a person has fed hordes of strays, to get scratched or bit, and every single stray has to be put down because no one can tell which
one might be infected, I have seen 14 strays euthanized for one event because of people trying to be "kind".

Wow. Would really like to see the evidence supporting your assertion that the average pet owner can't be bothered to get a rabies shot. Me thinks you
are talking from your posterior. Where I live, major city, all dogs and cats are required to have a license and rabies vaccination over four months of
age. Supposition and opinion shouldn't be presented as fact.

I applaud those brave Cops for shooting that dangerous Cat. It could have been a suicide bomber Cat cus ya'll never know dem Iranians might be
sneaking in terrorists Cats through the Mexican border I read it on Fox News yall.

Damn stupid cats, and what are all those happy-do-good-tree-huggers talking about? Animals don't deserve rights, my pastor sez they don't have souls
and therefor are no worth saving.

We have NO right to "eliminate them" just because it's running loose in a neighborhood.

Well said muse

Have to say I'm shocked by some of the replies.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
As for a cat that keeps getting its tongue stuck in the collar, that is a new one to me, lol.

You think thats funny??

Originally posted by nixie_nox
The poor things come to the woods to die.

how do you know that? are thay carrying a bottle of cyanide pills?

I would imagine that when a cop shoots a cat with a gun designed to kill humans there's a good chance the bullet will pass through the cat hit the
road/pavement and continue untill it hits something else. Has the alley been checked for dead bodies that contain stray police bullets??

Cats that can carry any number of diseases, that can be passed onto humans. Do you know that once symptoms of rabies show, it is 100% lethal?

Do you know rabies can have a latency period of up to six months? But still remain infectious?

If an animal is sick, even if it has tags, its shoot on sight. It is not worth the risk.

There is a reason the humane society urges people to keep their pet indoors.

It is these very strict measures that there have only been a handful of cases in the states in the past few decades, as opposed to the tens of
thousands that die a horrible death in India each year from proper control.

Funny how no one faults the owners for letting the pet out into an alley where it can be:
hit by a car
lost and then starved
killed by a dog
tortured by thugs (in my city, gangs take stray cats to sic their pit bulls on to train them and make them blood hungry, my friend saw a pregnant cat
tied to a fence and had pit bulls unleashed on it in just this manner)

being shot is the most humane of its endings.

edit on 18-2-2012 by nixie_nox because: (no reason given)

This sounds exactly the same as the fear mongering the government uses.

Terrorists are dangerous, so we must bomb them! It only takes one to cause a 911!

There are alot of dangers out there, it's part of life. Being human, we have no choice to accept these risks, unless of course, we want a government
that "protects" us from everything, including ourselves.

Do we really want that? To be afraid of everything, and to have big brother protect us?

If someone shoots my pet like this, then I'm going to wait for them to throw there guns down and whatever sort of badge that makes them "official,"
and we are going to handle it man to man.

The lack of empathy and common sence shown by not one , but TWO police officers is mind boggling. These are people who are given the power to make
life and death judgement calls over others lives? I hope a black cat crosses thier path and curses them forever.

Bottom line here is that it was a neighbours pet.... everyone is familiar with their neighbours pets, the person who made the call HAD to of known who
the cat belonged to, so by telling the police that it was a 'Stray', they were obviously trying to get rid of an animal that they merely didn't
like.....

Judging by the actions and common responses of the American police force, all you parents out there had best hope your neighbours don't get too
cranky with your children...... Your cops aren't paid to think, they are Enforcers, They 'Enforce' the 'Law'. Never forget this.....

They are the formalized, government-sanctioned version of Mafia Enforcers and do the exact same job, difference is that they have government
permission to do so, and you all know what your government is like.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
Guess what animal control does with them folks.. they take it back to headquarters and put it down if its sick. The only difference is the
transportation.

Animal control doesn't spray bullets around a residential neighborhood. They also have the expertise to determine whether the cat is actually sick or
just a little dirty looking. They have the equipment to humanely trap the animal for closer inspection and to determine whether the cat was chipped
and to find the owner if necessary.

Most importantly, they put down the animal in a humane manner instead of just shooting holes in it 'till it stops moving.

If the police aren't specially trained to deal with animals, they have no business responding to this type of call if the cat is not attacking or
threatening anyone. Assuming all sick animals have rabies is the same type of "zero-tolerance" mentality that's screwing up all aspects of
society.

Cut out the melodrama,it makes you look silly. No one is spraying bullets around the city.

And animal control is control, not the humane society. Don't make the error of confusing the two. Both the animal control and the Humane Society
have freezers full of dead bodies of the dozens of animals put down that day. AC is interested in controlling stray animals and wild ones on public
property. No they do not have the funds or the time to look at or treat sick animals when all shelters are already full.

As I explained before, since you jumped in without actually reading the thread.

Rabies is still alive and well. It is because of this zero tolerance policy that keeps it from being a bigger problem then it is. And how is checking
a 100% fatal disease ruining society?

If the cat was in the alley, how would they know if it was checked or not??

Exactly. They have no way of knowing that it was a stray, therefore they have no valid reason to shoot it, regardless of policy to shoot strays.

Just because it wasn't checked or verified doesn't mean it is acceptable to shoot it.

I will explain this one more time as you people are too busy having knee jerk reactions and an emotional response to actually understand the
process.

NO ONE is responsible for your pet but you. Not the health department,not the police, not animal control. Which is why if your dog threatens people or
bites someone, you are fully responsible for the damage YOUR dog caused. And people can sue your ass off. Does this stop people from letting their
dogs run around the neighborhood? No.

Again, Animal control may have not been able to report to the scene to tend to the animal, so the police had to handle it.

The duty of the police is to protect and serve, the public, not your animals.

They also have to write reports for any bullet fired. If that animal wasn't cause for concern, they would of then told the location to animal
control, and been on their way.

They are not going to take it and have it checked out if it is showing sick signs.

they are not going to expose themselves, and it is their duty to the public to not let a sick or diseased animals wander around a residential area.
Period.

And don't think for a second that your sick or diseased pet comes onto my property and bites my kid, that I won't have the health department at your
house by the end of the day.

Listen to what you people are saying. That you want the government to come and take your sick cats and tend to them. That the pet owners aren't
responsible.

Because all you hear is shoot and pet and oh why didn't the police take the cat to the vet. Talk about a waste of funding.

I just rechecked the number.There are now 60-100 million homeless cats in the United States alone.Most are the result of pets left to breed.

What really irks me is that you don't care about the 60% of dogs euthanized, the 75% of cats that are euthanized, that enter shelters, that are
perfectly healthy.

The ASPCA, the Humane Society, and your vets will tell you to keep your cats inside.The homeowners chose not too. So the pet owner chose to not keep
their pet safe and expose it to a variety of ways it could get hurt or killed.

Although less than ten human rabies fatalities occur in the United States annually, as many as 40,000 Americans receive the vaccine each year
after contact with animals suspected of being rabid. An additional 18,000 people get the vaccine before exposure as a preventative measure.

With 40,000 people being exposed each year, yea its a problem.

which is why health departments have entire programs strictly dedicated to rabies.

Would you know if you saw a rabid animal? if you did, would you approach it?

Lets see what this deadly and contagious disease does to you, remember, once symptoms show, it is 100% fatal. Only one person has ever survived
intact. Five others have survived, but they are vegetables:

Rabid animals-those infected with rabies-may display noticeable signs or behavioral changes. An animal that has bitten someone and is or was
acting strangely may be rabid. It is important to observe the animal when possible in order to provide proper and timely preventive treatment to any
person who may have been exposed. An animal that shows any of the following signs may have rabies: No fear of humans shown by a wild animal Shyness in
a usually friendly pet Restlessness, excitability, aggression, or sudden mood changes Excessive drooling An animal that is normally active at night
(such as bats, raccoons, and skunks) being active during the day Eating substances not normally eaten (pica) Paralysis, which is sometimes the only
sign

But we will go ahead and let all sick pets wander around the neighborhood infecting other pets and wild animals so you can make sure fluffy gets
adequate care.

The typical incubation period for rabies is 2 to 3 months. In rare cases, the incubation period can last from several days to more than a year
after exposure to the virus. During the incubation period, there are usually no symptoms of rabies. Early symptoms include pain and numbness at the
site of the bite followed by vague symptoms that are often confused with those of other conditions. These include: Fever. Cough or sore throat. Pain,
burning, itching, tingling, or numbness at the site of the bite or original exposure. Abdominal pain. Anxiety or restlessness that gradually gets
worse and may become extreme agitation. Later symptoms are more distinctive and may include: Periods of normal behavior that alternate with bizarre or
unusual behavior, such as: Anxiety or feeling agitated. Hallucinations. Delirium. Fear of water (hydrophobia) or fear of air (aerophobia). Muscle
spasms in the face, neck, and/or diaphragm, followed by seizures. Paralysis, which is often the only symptom of the less common paralytic form of
rabies often associated with rabies from vampire bats. Wide fluctuations in temperature, pulse, and blood pressure. Coma, and heart and respiratory
failure.

There isn't data released on pet vaccinations (that might be hard to trace between vets and animal control) but having worked in the rabies program,
I hauled dead animals daily to be tested for rabies, pets that were not vaccinated.

Or pets would have to be put on quarantine. So some poor dog has to be stuck in a crate for six months because the owner didn't get it vaccinated.

And this was a high income area that had no excuse for not having pets vaccinated. But these people would have acres bumping up against woods, not
get their pet vaccinated, then both the dog and the raccoon it tusseled with are put down and tested.

Infected dogs spread the most rabies to humans through bites, as they get more aggressive.

But cats have the highest incidents because they poach more.

The majority of people exposed to rabid pets and that get bitten in general every year are children.

I was bit on the finger by a rat that came out of a woodpile when I was about 10. You can still see the scar 30 years later. I was taken to the ER for
evaluation and not given the series of shot in the navel (yes, they still did those then) because I didn't exhibit signs of rabies the couple of
hours I was there. The doctor figured it was Spring and it was just defending its babies. Despite the aggressiveness of a rat coming about 10 feet out
of a woodpile to attack me for stopping to tie my shoe.

Obviously it wasn't rabid, otherwise I would have died long ago, but still kinda scary when you think about it when it could take months to exhibit
signs of infection.

On August 20, 2011, a local house cat, Haze, wandered a few blocks from his home in Lebanon. After a bystander called the police to report Haze as
a stray, Officer Covey of the Lebanon Police Department arrived on the scene. After arriving on the scene, Officer Covey discharged his firearm in a
residential area and ended Haze's life. Officer Covey left the scene and the bystander then placed Haze in the garbage can. Officer Covey did not
contact the homeowner on whose property Haze was killed either before or after the incident even though she was at home at the time of the shooting.
From the time the officer was dispatched, arrived on the scene, shot Haze and left, the police log shows the call was less than 5 minutes.

Anyone can just call up the cops in this town and have them come shoot anything they've decided they think looks off? Does this happen often - cops
discharging their weapons in alleys behind people's homes to off allegedly sick cats reported by random worried neighbors?

I can see you want to defend the police - and that story is linked to a site about police brutality - but read some on the other site

you can see how this story doesn't make sense - right?

you can understand why this cat didn't have to be shot - and why people are upset?

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